I knit a stole out of Fiesta Boucle Rayon which was my first big venture in this direction. The ball band says to dry clean. And yet, I'd like to block this, so dry cleaning doesn't seem to be the answer. Any suggestions?

It can be gently hand-washed. Most yarn manufacturers put DCO on their stuff to keep from getting yelled at by idiots who throw stuff in the washing machine and let it rip, then complain about the result.

To block, get it wet, roll it in a towel, and pin it out. Let dry. Result: gorgeous!

I've never mucked with this brand of rayon boucle, but I can tell you that the recommendation to dry clean rayon is just plain stoopid. Rayon washes and goes through a dryer like iron. Wonderful stuff. now, that being said, it is often dyed with fragile dyestuffs and doesn't hold color particularly well. Even actate rayon acts more like cotton than anything else and really needs a fiber reactive dye to be colorfast.

On the other hand, it takes a lot of wear to bleach out a good dye job, and a lot of bleach in the laundry. You're kind of on your own. But if the dye doesn't bleed, the rayon will be just fine. I routinely blend rayon boucles and flakes with Red Heart and run the whole thing through the washing machine and a HOT dryer.

Hi Barbara,When/if you wet the rayon boucle, it may also pull up and look like a dog's dinner----DO NOT PANIC!!! The yarn is somewhat "creped", i.e. twisted a bit tighter than usual so that it crimps, and rayon is also notorious for crimping anyway. It will block out just fine, and you can steam it with a steam iron held above it, if you need to. I would go easy with the dryer on HOT (all due respect to Llinn) at first, and maybe not dry until really dry==partially dry, and then pin it out to block it. go a little easy, just like you said your last post, with spraying first, see what it does and how it dries, but pin it out to shape, if it needs it.Best wishes, Anna

OOps, I should have posted more directly to Fiber Chef, who asked the first question about Fiesta's Rayon Boucle----I have some, too, and have dithered about blocking it.....but in my past life I was a custom dressmaker, and had to learn about fibers and how they behaved!Anna

Thanks for the great info everyone. I shall go forth and block judiciously. I loved the colors of the yarn, but unless this blocks well, I suspect I wouldn't knit with the stuff again. I've just learned a great deal since this project, and am more of a natural fiber snob, now. [:00]

Reporting back here. Excellent advice, the end result was great and stopped looking like a wadded mess (as much as boucle can). I stretched it out as desired (I ran kitchen cotton yarn through the edges since I hadn't procured blocking wire yet, an idea from Shelley Kang, which gave nice straight edges). Anyway, after pinning, I misted it like crazy and then let it dry until absolutely certain it was dry. Removed the pins and she just lay there nice and flat. Mum was thrilled with the FO for birthday/Mother's day. Thanks for all the tips and hints!